In 1947 Fred Daly, the son of a blacksmith, became the first Irish golfer to win the Open Championship. He went straight into the Ryder Cup team that year - another first for Ireland - and played in the next three Ryder Cups too. Daly lifted Irish golf to another level, gaining recognition worldwide for himself and his countrymen.

Many more Irish golfers have lit up the Ryder Cup since then, appearing in every decade and in all but a few of the subsequent matches. Irishmen have played stellar roles in several matches, among them Christy O'Connor and his nephew, Christy Junior, Eamonn Darcy, Ronan Rafferty, David Feherty, Philip Walton, Paul McGinley, Darren Clarke, Padraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy.

Why has it taken so long, then, for an Irish captain to emerge? Scotland, Wales, Spain and Germany have all had the honour but never, before now, has an Irishman led the team.

Golf in Ireland, like rugby and several other sports, is an "all-Ireland" sport that crosses political boundaries. Players from the Republic represented "Great Britain" for many years until the team name was changed to "Great Britain & Ireland" in 1973. There was another change in 1979 when the fixture became, as it is now, Europe v the United States.

When Europe attempt to win the Cup for a third time in succession at Gleneagles this week, they will at last be led by an Irishman, Dubliner McGinley, whose credentials for the job are impressive to say the least.

Paul McGinley, whose credentials for the job are impressive, will captain the European side as they bid to win their third straight Ryder Cup this weekend ©Getty Images



McGinley sank the winning putt in 2002, a 10-footer that left Jim Furyk on his knees at The Belfry. Two years later he went out last in the singles and easily beat Stewart Cink at Oakland Hills as Europe won again. A Welshman, Ian Woosnam, was captain when Ireland hosted the match for the first time in 2006. McGinley contributed a half in retaining his unbeaten singles record.

McGinley was vice-captain in the victories of 2010 and 2012. If Europe clinch their second hat-trick of the century at Gleneagles it would give him an unrivalled six-out-of-six record in the event that McIlroy, the game's top player, calls "the best golf tournament in the world".

McGinley was diplomatic when asked, in a recent interview for Golf International, why there had never been an Irish captain before.

"We've had great players in the past such as Eamonn Darcy, Des Smyth and Philip Walton, right back to Christy O'Connor who played in 10 Ryder Cups and Christy Junior, too. For one reason or another they were up against serious contenders when their chances of Ryder Cup captaincy came along. That's why it didn't happen for them. I'm just delighted the cards fell into place for me."

Darren Clarke, who was a rival to McGinley for the job, was also wary of saying anything that might cause offence, bearing in mind that he has hopes of being a future captain. When asked if it was unfair that Ireland had never had a captain he replied: "No, I don't think it's unfair at all. Some players don't want the job and before Europe as a whole came on board, nobody particularly wanted it. Let's hope Paul McGinley is the first of many [Irish captains]."

Christy OConnor said he would have loved to captain the Ryder Cup team ©Getty Images



This version of events, that "nobody particularly wanted it", does not sit well with the legendary Christy O'Connor, who will be 90 this year. He told Paul Kelly, author of the lavish 2006 book Ireland and the Ryder Cup: "I would have loved it. With my experience I might have been able to do the job better than others." Some captains, he said, were too defeatist, whereas "the Irish just hate to lose". O'Connor recalled the 1955 match, his debut, when "the general feeling among the players travelling to America was that we were on our way to be slaughtered. And that was the feeling for many years. I am not totally condemning the captains of the time, but I believe they should have been more strong-willed and in control of the team. They should have been telling our players 'Let's go out and win' rather than 'Let's go out and put up a good show'.

"Every team had passengers. And that added extra pressure on the top four or five players who had to play every match."

Despite playing in 10 successive Ryder Cup teams O'Connor was never asked to be captain. His regular partner was Peter Alliss, the BBC commentator who appeared eight times and had a magnificent record, given that Britain usually lost badly.

"I think it's a great pity that Christy was not named as captain," Alliss has said. "I myself would have liked to have been the captain of a Ryder Cup team. We were both part of teams that won [in 1957] and teams that tried. Certainly Christy deserved it, not only for his brand of golf and his enthusiasm, but for his desire to do the very best not only for himself but as a representative of Irish golf."

Some people, said Alliss, wondered if O'Connor was articulate enough, whether he could make a good speech. "It was something that never bothered the Americans. They chose their captain on merit. It didn't matter a toss whether he was a great speaker or not."

A simpler verdict came from author Kelly. "There should have been an Irish captain before and it should have been Christy O'Connor. The old boys club at the PGA over in England saw to it that it never happened." The PGA used to be in charge of the Ryder Cup, before the European Tour took over.

OConnor Junior was critical of the decision to appoint Ian Woosnam as captain of the European team for the 2006 contest at the K Club in Ireland ©Getty Images



O'Connor's nephew, Christy Junior, was a fierce campaigner for McGinley. He, like his uncle, was keen to be captain and made an effort in 2004, only to be rebuffed. "They turned me down on the grounds that a Major winner should captain the side. I have never heard such rubbish. Sam Torrance (2002) never won a Major and Mark James (1999) made one of the biggest balls-ups when he lost a huge lead to the Americans."

O'Connor Junior was a hero of the 1989 match, also at The Belfry. Against Fred Couples, who was the world number one at the time, he hit a two-iron over the water at the last hole to 4ft from the hole. It is one of the most famous shots in the history of the Ryder Cup.

He felt "hurt" that his uncle had never been appointed and was severely critical of the decision to appoint Woosnam in 2006. Having an Irish captain in Ireland would, he said, have been "almost like a 13th man on the team".

The lack of an Irish captain was, he said "bordering on an overwhelming sense of anti-Irishness" - until McGinley's appointment.

Now McGinley has set the trend, it could start a flood. Padraig Harrington will surely follow him as captain fairly swiftly, and Darren Clarke is a live contender, too. But it has been a long wait.

Brian Oliver, author of '"The Commonwealth Games: Extraordinary Stories Behind the Medals", and a former sports editor of The Observer, was weightlifting media manager at London 2012 and Glasgow 2014.